Staff Psychologist

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Martinsburg (WV); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Telework available

Paid time off

Parental leave

Federal benefits

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Martinsburg VA Medical Center, seeks a licensed psychologist (GS-11 to GS-13) to provide assessment, diagnosis, and evidence-based psychotherapy for Veterans.

Telework may be available; the role requires adherence to CPRS documentation and collaborative care with an interdisciplinary team. Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) participation is available; salary is competitive with federal pay scales and regular step increases.

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in psychology from an APA/PCSAS/CPA-accredited program.
• Current licensure as a psychologist in a U.S. state/territory/DC, or supervision plan if graduate/temporary appointment.
• Internship and supervised practice meeting APA/CPA standards or equivalent.
• Eligibility criteria for VHA HPT track and re-specialization pathways as applicable.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive psychological assessment and diagnostic services for Veterans.
• Deliver evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions (individual, family, group).
• Coordinate care with health care providers to ensure integrated treatment within MVAMC.
• Develop and document treatment plans and ensure CPRS documentation compliance.
• Adhere to MVAMC policies, risk assessment, and care access standards.
• Work a full-time schedule (Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:30pm) and participate in related duties.

Skills

Clinical assessment

Psychotherapy

CPRS documentation

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

Doctoral degree in psychology (APA/CPA accredited)

Tools

CPRS/EHR

Job description

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) - a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval - award amount (up to $200 -000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Qualifications

VHA Health Professions Trainee (HPT): VHA Health Professional Trainees (HPT) pending the completion of education or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. NOTE: This applies to current/past/upcoming VHA HPTs only. An HPT is an individual appointed to a temporary position in one or more VHA medical facilities performing clinical or research training experiences to satisfy program or degree requirements or receiving VA Health Professional Scholarship Program. HPTs can be either VA-paid or Without Compensation (WOC).

Basic Requirements

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• English Language Proficiency: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - Chapter 3 - section A - paragraph 3j
• Education: Have a doctoral degree in psychology from a graduate program in psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) - the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS) - or the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) at the time the program was completed
• The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed
• OR - Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and - in addition - successfully complete a re specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re specialization program) meeting both of the following conditions: (a) The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program
• AND - (b) The specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed
• OR - Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution - with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature
• Internships: Have successfully completed a professional psychology internship training program that was accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed and that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed
• OR - New VHA psychology internship programs that are in the process of applying for APA accreditation are acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement - provided that such programs were sanctioned by the VHA Central Office Program Director for Psychology and the VHA Office of Academic Affiliations at the time that the individual was an intern
• OR - VHA facilities that offered full-time - one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96-151 (pre 1979) are considered to be acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement
• OR - Applicants who completed an internship that was not accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed may be considered eligible for hire only if they are currently board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in a specialty area that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed
• (NOTE: Once board certified - the employee is required to maintain board certification.) Applicants who have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature may fulfill this internship requirement by having the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience in a site specifically acceptable to the candidate's doctoral program
• If the internship experience is not noted on the applicant's official transcript - the applicant must provide a statement from the doctoral program verifying that the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience was completed in a site acceptable to the doctoral program
• Licensure: Hold a full - current - and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State - Territory - or Commonwealth of the United States - or the District of Columbia
• Exception: Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a ""graduate psychologist"" at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade under the authority of 38 U.S.C.
• 7405 [(c)(2)(B)] for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed
• Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment
• May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: GS-11 Staff Psychologist (Entry Level): Experience
• None beyond the basic requirements
• GS-12 Staff Psychologist (Developmental Level): Experience
• At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11)
• Examples of qualifying experience include: Diagnosing mental disorders - conducting psychological or neuropsychological assessments - treating mental disorders through a variety of 6 modalities - provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders - and may conduct research
• Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist but with less intense supervision than at the GS-11 grade level Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations
• Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies
• Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures
• Ability to conduct research activities - such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties)
• Ability to perform basic research tasks of scholarship and research execution within the context of an established research team - including research participant relations - research documentation - data acquisition - maintenance - and collaboration
• GS-13 (Full Performance Level): Experience
• At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist - with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level
• Examples of qualifying experience include: Diagnosing mental disorders - conducting psychological or neuropsychological assessments - treating mental disorders through a variety of modalities - provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders - and may conduct research
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of - and ability to apply - professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations
• Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health
• Knowledge of clinical research literature
• Preferred Experience: Outpatient -Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Programs (BHIP)
• References: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-13.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties may include but are not limited to
• Provides comprehensive psychological assessment and diagnostic services for Veterans with a broad range of psychopathology receiving care - including services for patients with complex psychopathology requiring advanced psycho-diagnostic skills
• Demonstrates expertise in using and contemporary interview and psychometric assessment methods for mental disorders and/or behavioral health conditions
• Provides education to patients and family members regarding mental disorders and best practices approaches to treatment
• Provides evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions as indicated and appropriate for the specific job setting and duties of the Psychologist - which may include individual - family - and group psychotherapy and psychoeducation
• Provides consultation to health care providers about assessment findings and treatment plan for patients to ensure that care is coordinated - collaborative - and integrated within the Martinsburg VA Medical Center footprint
• Develops - implements - and documents the mental health treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients - as indicated and appropriate for the specific job setting and duties of the Psychologist
• Complies with all Mental Health Service documentation requirements - including standards for timely completion of CPRS patient contact notes - use of required documentation templates - clinical reminders - treatment plans - and risk assessment protocols
• Adheres to all MVAMC and MHS policies and practices for delivering clinical care - including but not limited to risk assessment and reduction practices for potentially dangerous behavior (suicide and violence) - timeliness of care and access standards - professional conduct requirements - and CPRS documentation conventions
• Achieves minimal clinical workload expectations as established by MHS Leadership
• Other tasks and duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: Full time
• Monday through Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm
• Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized
• Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized
• EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact [e-mail] - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
• Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)Telework: Available
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: GS-11 (26811F) - GS-12 (26812F) - GS-13 (000000)
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized
• Physical Requirements: The position is primarily sedentary - with some bending - walking - and stooping required
• This position requires the ability to read printed material and distinguish colors - such as reading computer screens and the ability to accurately perceive depth to move around workspace safely and to appropriately make contact with patients and staff.